The Newly-Formed Acquaintance
by Amarantos
Summary: Independent, career-driven Bella gets a flat tire on her way to visit Charlie. Gentlemanly (but a tad cocky) Edward offers her some help. Will she be able to suck up her pride and accept his offer? Or will she prove that a strong-willed woman can move mountains? Could this chance meeting between two very different people affect the rest of their lives? Read and enjoy!
1. The Newly-Formed Acquaintance

_Damn! _Shaking my head and sighing in defeat, I pulled over to the side of the road. Luckily for me, there were no other cars to witness my humiliation; however, it was more routine than chance that made it this way – no one ever really entered this rainy little town of Forks, so the lack of vehicles on the road was anything but surprising. Or so I thought. With a grumble, I got out of my black 2014 Hyundai Elantra, bending over to survey the damage. A flat-as-pancakes back tire greeted me, with enough holes to make a damn Swiss cheese jealous. Straightening up, I whipped out my smartphone, deciding that this was a job for the all-mighty Google. Seriously, there are just some things that cardio-vascular surgeons didn't have a clue about, and fixing a flat tire was one of them. Just as eHow was teaching me about wrenches and jacks and spares, I heard the telltale sound of a vehicle coming up the road, and in a matter of moments, a silver, expensive-looking Volvo had pulled up behind me. _Great, just what I need_, I thought. _He's either a good Samaritan or an ax murderer. Anyway, they both suck. I don't need anyone's help; I'm an independent, modern woman! This guy can just get the hell out!_

My antagonistic thoughts were flung out of my mind however, when the driver got out of his car. Before, his dark tints had kept me from getting anything more than his silhouette, so when he stepped out, I swear I nearly had a coronary. This man was just _gorgeous. _He was tall, with perfect pale skin, muscular legs wrapped up in dark pants, a navy pinstriped long-sleeved shirt surely hiding a six-pack, a straight nose, full, kissable, pouty lips, eyes as green as the foliage lining both sides of the road, and topped off with lush, messy bronze hair _(whose hair is _bronze?!_). _All in all, I had never seen a more beautiful, appealing man. The male model started walking towards me. Thank God I was wearing my white, three-quarter sleeved, short dress with my matching Louboutin pumps. At least I would look semi-decent next to him. My heart did a somersault in my chest as he opened those glorious lips of his to speak.

"Do you need some help, Miss…" he trailed off. His voice was soft and musical.

Somehow, I found the ability to speak, realizing that just because this man was good-looking, it didn't make him any less of a stranger to me, or any less of a jerk for assuming that just because I was a woman, I couldn't fix a flat tire.

"Swan. Isabella Swan. And my title is _Doctor_, not Miss," I told him evenly, looking him squarely in the eye and folding my arms across my chest. I wasn't going to play nice.

"I apologize then, _Doctor_ Swan." He exaggerated the title, a smirk beginning to form on those lips of his. "But you haven't answered my question. Would you like some help with that tire? You really _do _seem to need it…"

I stiffened at his words. That bastard; I would show him! Who the hell did he think he was to imply that I was incompetent?! This stranger was seriously starting to annoy me. "Thank you, but I'm perfectly capable of doing this on my own. So no, I _don't _need help, especially not from strangers," I said coldly, through gritted teeth. I forced a small, obviously fake smile at the end. The beautiful man looked slightly taken aback, but the surprise in his eyes was soon replaced by amusement. A crooked smile tugged at his lips.

"Alright, fair enough. Let me introduce myself, then: I'm Edward Cullen, and I'm visiting my parents in Forks. I'm a prosecuting attorney for Washington State. Now are we still strangers, Dr. Swan, or _newly- formed acquaintances_?" He extended his hand towards me.

I looked at it suspiciously for a moment, and then shook it. He _was_ being polite, and gentlemanly, so I supposed I could let go of my irrational resentment until he really deserved it. His palm was warm, the skin smooth. For a split second, I could imagine feeling his hands all over my body. Realizing he was waiting for an answer, I muttered, "Fine, we can be 'acquaintances'. But I'm still fixing my car myself." I scowled at him defiantly.

"Suit yourself. I was just trying to help you out. How about I wait in my car, in case you need me?" he offered pleasantly, smiling widely. He looked certain that I would need his help.

"I won't."

"On the off chance that you do, I'll be there."

Two hours later, he was still sitting in his car, headphones in his ears and a book in his hand, the picture of ease. I, on the other hand, was covered in sweat, grease and dirt, my pretty dress ruined, my hair sticking out in a thousand different directions. I felt like screaming, but I was still determined to keep my pride and do this on my own. Occasionally, Mr. Hotshot-Know-It-All would stick his too-pretty head out the window and sweetly repeat his offer of assistance. I would always decline, and he would chuckle and exchange a few more words with me, just polite conversation, getting to know each other better, before he retreated into his car. I realized I _did _know him… sort of. We had never met, but his father was a doctor in Forks, and knew my father, Charlie, who had mentioned the name 'Cullen' to me a couple times. They were friends, Charlie said, and had settled in a few years ago.

After another hour had passed, I threw the wrench into the trunk, turned around to face my all-too-polite observer, and smirked triumphantly, lifting my chin. I had done it. It was almost dusk, and I was hungry enough to eat my car, but I had done it; my car was fixed, without a bit of help from Edward Cullen. He smiled back, took his headphones out of his ears, and got out of the car, approaching me. My breath caught a little; even his _walk_ was sexy.

With his bright green eyes twinkling, he charmingly laughed, "You did great, although it did take you _forever._ I don't know about you, but after all that, I'm starving. Care to join me for dinner, Dr. Isabella?"

I sighed. He was really irresistible when he asked so sweetly. However, there were things I needed to do first. Running a hand through my already-ruined hair, I replied, "I'd like to, but Charlie was expecting me to arrive two hours ago, and if I'm any later he'll dispatch a search party. How about tomorrow? I could meet you somewhere."

His smile widened. "Tomorrow sounds great. We could go to _La Bella Italia_, if you want. Say, seven thirty?" he asked.

"I'll meet you there, Mr. Edward," I answered, smiling back a little.

"It's a date then," he stated, green eyes intense as they stared into my brown ones. Gazing back into the emerald pools, I felt myself get lost. It was only then that I realized I had avoided looking at him for too long periods of time; his beauty was ensnaring, and by gawking extensively, I had just gotten myself caught. My gaze drifted to his lips, full and pink as they were. I wanted _so badly_ to kiss the man I had only recently wanted to pulverize. And it looked like I was about to get my wish! He began leaning in, and my heart pounded in my chest, blood rushing to my lips. His face was so close to mine, I could feel his breath. And his soft lips met…. my cheek. _What?! No! _I thought wildly.

He pulled away after his soft peck, and his sexy smirk tugged at his lips again. _Damn it! _I _should've been tugging at those lips! _I mentally groaned, looking up at him. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Dr. Isabella," he said softly, sensually."I'm really looking forward to it."

_The tease!_ "S-See you then," I managed to breathily reply. With a final smirk, he turned on his heels (giving me a spectacular view of his rear) and sauntered back to his car. I shakily got into my Elantra, with my 'acquaintance' following right behind. Driving towards Charlie's house, I sighed softly, as my cheek tingled with the ghost of his kiss. I couldn't believe he hadn't gone for it, and I couldn't believe how much I wanted him to! I would try my absolute best to rectify the situation the following night.


	2. More Than Acquaintances

I peered through my windshield at the entrance of the chic little restaurant, tiny beads of sweat starting to form on my forehead. Exhaling shakily, I turned up the air conditioning in my car and tried to relax while The Beatles sang about a face they couldn't forget. _Great, even a bunch of old guys are screwing with me._ The Volvo parked next to me told me that my annoyingly punctual tormenter was already here, and had probably been waiting patiently inside for more than the six minutes I had been sitting in my car, hoping I could muster up the bravery to go in and meet him already. _Or the nerve to swerve out of the parking lot, speed home and stream an episode of The Vampire Diaries on Netflix instead. _But I wasn't the sort of person to stand someone up; I made a commitment, so I would stick to it.

Steeling my nerves, I put on my ready-to-conquer-the-world face, and stepped out of the car. The hostess ushered me to the most private table in the room, where my beaming date stood up as I neared him. _He really _is _a gentleman, isn't he?_ For some reason it annoyed me a little. His sparkling eyes locked with mine as he reached for my hand and pressed it to his lips, just as soft as they were the day before. My greeting froze in my throat. We sat down, and I took a brief moment to ogle him; his face was its usual perfection, but rather than the work clothes he had been wearing the day before, tonight he rocked a cream cashmere sweater under a casual grey blazer, and dark grey pants. Glancing up, I saw he was doing the same to me. I myself was wearing a snug, midnight blue sleeveless dress with black peep-toe heels and very light makeup. I supposed I looked pretty, but I could never be described as _beautiful_. I wondered what his assessment of me was.

"You look breathtaking, Dr. Isabella." The bastard seemed to enjoy my sudden blush, smiling wickedly. _Damn him! _"I almost thought you weren't coming."

"So did I. In fact, I nearly stood you up for an episode of Vampire Diaries," I shot back. Let _him_ squirm a little.

"Oh, but you didn't. It's satisfying to know that you chose to spend your night with _me _over such a wide selection of attractive men. Thank you for the compliment, Dr. Isabella," he said smoothly, that infuriating grin still plastered to his face. _Damn it, he got me there! Only a lawyer could turn such an obvious insult around to their favor…_

"You can drop the _Doctor Isabella_, you 's just Bella. It makes sense for us to be on a first name basis now, don't you think? Since apparently I'm hitting on you and all," I said dryly.

"That's a great idea! Hmm, _Bella_," he tested out my name, a thoughtful look on his face. My heart sped up. God, it sounded divine on his lips. "I like it. It suits you."

Before I had a chance to reply, the waitress arrived. _Thank God._ I didn't know what I would have said to him; this man had a way of destroying my brain-to-mouth filter, so that words I would _never _say to anyone just tumbled out in his presence. I hated that I couldn't trust myself to be rational around him, that he constantly threw my world into chaos. After we had ordered and the waitress left, he turned his gaze to me again. _Yay, here we go! Let's see what nonsense I'm gonna spout out this time!_

"So, _Bella_, what did your father say about you going out with me tonight?"

"Actually, _Edward_, I didn't tell him yet. He thinks I'm having dinner with my friend Angela." This was a topic that I'd wanted to get some things clear about, so I was glad he brought it up. "Charlie and your dad are friends, and I don't want their relationship to be affected by anything that happens in ours. At least not for the time being."

"That makes sense, I guess. Carlisle and Esme know I'm going out with _someone_, but I didn't mention your name. I thought you mightn't be too keen on that, _at least not for the time being._" He repeated my words cheekily, while I tried to decipher his exact meaning. What, was he already forming expectations as to how serious our relationship would become? It was only the first date! I decided to stop thinking about it, to let it go; I always overthought things.

As we ate, we found out more about each other, continuing from where we had left off the day before. We were both 26, and lived and worked in Seattle, with the distance between our homes only about a twenty-minute drive. Our careers were solid; we had both worked quite hard to reach where we were. His passion and intelligence impressed me, and I could only hope I had a similar effect on him.

Our conversation didn't stay very long at all on careers, however; he peppered me with questions about my favorite books (we both _loved_ to read), my favorite music and bands, my hobbies; at my probing, he revealed the same information about himself. We talked and laughed ourselves breathless; I decided I _loved _his laugh. We had so much in common, and yet we were more than different enough for our conversation to be always stimulating. Somehow, I felt I had known him forever and yet not long enough; I knew so much about him, yet I wanted to know more. Never in my life had I felt this way about anyone, and I never wanted to _stop _feeling the way I did when Edward looked at me, or smiled at me, or laughed at something I said.

I felt we hadn't had nearly enough time together when the waitress brought the check, but a glance at my phone revealed it was 10:30; we had been here for three hours. I wanted to split the check, but Edward swept it away before I had the chance to complain. He offered me his arm as we left, and instead of saying something snarky (which seemed to always entertain him), I took it, feeling the soft muscles of his bicep. _I'll bet he's ripped_. He led me to my car, and we stopped at the driver's side. I let go of his arm and turned to face him. My heart leapt into my chest as I did. _Christ, I'll get hypertension if I spend more time with this man._ His emerald eyes searched mine, and I couldn't help but return his gaze. His fingers came up to brush a few strands of my hair behind my ears, my skin tingling where he touched me.

"I had the most wonderful time tonight that I've had in the longest while, Bella," he said softly, sincerely. I smiled at him sweetly.

"So have I," I replied, matching his tone. He smiled back a little, almost shyly. He was too sweet, too cute. I just couldn't resist.

Usually, I wasn't that bold, but like always, Edward Cullen made do things I wouldn't normally do. I reached my right hand up to the back of his head, pulling him down, and pressed my lips against his, kissing him. His lips were _so_ soft, yet sculpted, and felt amazing against mine. For a second, he seemed a little surprised. _You and me both, buddy. _But then he pressed back, and started moving his mouth against mine, giving me the best kiss of my life. Suddenly, he broke away, leaving me bereft and a little peeved. _Damn, it was too soon. _We both took a second to regain our breaths. Then he met my eyes again. Oddly enough, he had the gall to look a little pissed off too, as if _he_ were the one who was pulled from the best kiss of _his _life! His eyebrows were furrowed, his lips pressed into a thin line. Then he started _talking,_ when I knew he could put his mouth to _much _better use.

Frowning at me, he said: "You stole my thunder!" What the _fuck?!_

"What?!" was the most coherent reply I could manage. I was frowning now, too.

"You heard me. Bella Swan, _you stole my thunder_. Damn it, I've been planning on kissing you and hopefully _stealing your breath away_ since I first met you! Did you _know_ how badly I wanted to do that?! But _no_, you just run along and kiss _me _and steal _my _breath away first! While I just _stand there _like a moron! It's so damn _unfair_!" he ranted, moving his arms about, actually sounding angry. Later, I thought it was the cutest thing ever, but at that moment, I was just pissed that he had _stopped_ kissing me because _I_ had been the one to kiss _him_!

"Well, maybe if you hadn't taken so long, you would've gotten to kiss me first! But you hesitated! So it's all _your_ fault that your plans were ruined in the first place! Now you can just stand there whining about it, _or_ you can show me what you had planned since yesterday!" I snapped at him, my hands folding across my chest. His mouth fell open. It was almost funny; he was the picture of astonishment. Quickly gathering himself again, he closed his jaw and took a step towards me, his eyes burning into mine. I was pressed against my car door.

"So, you want me to show you what I was planning?" he asked softly. I nodded, dazzled by him and unable to find my voice. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, while his gaze lowered to my lips. His hand came up to gently brush my right cheek before cupping it. He leaned down, his lips feather light against mine. And as he delivered on his promise, I realized I had been wrong; _this _was the best kiss of my life.

Our lips locked together fervently, moving feverishly against one another. The heat of his lips against mine felt incredible, and I _needed _to feel more. However, just as I was about to swipe my tongue against his lips, I felt _his_ tongue probing _my _lips. I nearly laughed; it seemed he wouldn't let me "steal his thunder" this time. As our tongues met, it was all sensation, and I tangled my fingers into his soft bronze locks. The hand on my cheek moved into my hair, and his other wrapped around my waist, pulling me flush against him. His body against mine was too much, too _good._ We would end up having sex in the parking lot if we didn't stop soon. I couldn't do it though; his tongue tangling with mine, exploring my mouth; my fingers in his hair; _his_ fingers in _my_ hair; his strong, muscular body pressing into mine; it all just felt so _sensual_, so _amazing_. Thankfully, he stopped it, breaking away as we untangled our bodies. My face was probably as red as a tomato.

Edward grinned sheepishly at me, and I could help but smile back. I wanted to tease him a little, so I asked: "You've been planning that since we first _met_? That makes you seem kind of creepy, you know, not to mention _presumptuous_…"

"Really? You didn't seem to have a problem with it ten seconds ago, in fact, you couldn't seem to get _enough-" _ I interrupted it with a playful hit to his shoulder as we laughed. Pulling me into his arms, he gently caressed my blushing face. "Would you like to go out with me again sometime, Bella?"

Despite his efforts to dazzle me, I found my voice. "Yes, Edward, I'd love to."

"Great," he beamed at me. "How about this Saturday?" It was Wednesday, so I thought I could handle two days apart. Plus, I had to spend some time with Charlie over the next two days, since I was really supposed to be visiting _him._

"Sure, that sounds good. Call me later, and we'll talk about it." We had exchanged numbers in the restaurant. At this, he tightened his arms around me, hugging me. I lifted my face a little to kiss his cheek. He kissed mine right back, and I giggled. We pulled apart.

"I'll see you then, Bella." He opened my door for me, and I got into the car.

"See you, Edward." As I drove off, I couldn't help but feel that now, we were just a little more than acquaintances.

**A/N: Thank you so much everyone, for all your support. Honestly, TNFA was just a little experiment that I did so I could familiarize myself with how to publish stories here. I just created an account on FF, but I've been reading fanfics here for over 3 years now. Anyway, I'm glad you all like it so much, and I'll try to publish at least one chapter per day. Have a wonderful day, everyone! **


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